On the ball

This phrase comes from the sports field. When you are on the ball, you

have to be alert and in charge. "Make sure you are on the ball with

those reports." The opposite is to drop the ball, which would mean not

completing an assignment and letting down the people you work with



Think outside the box

Many employers expect their staff to think creatively and approach

projects in new and different ways. In this phrase, the box signifies

conventional wisdom, or what is already known. Thinking outside the box

suggests coming up with new and innovative methods. "For this marketing

project, we need to think outside the box



Get the ball rolling

This idiom means to start something and set it in motion. "Let's get the

ball rolling on this project." Once you're off to a great start, you may

express your desire to keep the ball rolling



Brainstorm

This means to spend time thinking up lots of ideas. Many companies may

hold brainstorming sessions to tackle problems and dream up new ideas.

"Let's brainstorm new ideas for the advertising campaign.



Pull strings

What happens when you pull the strings to a puppet? It does what you

want it to do. This phrase means to go beyond what is normally done to

make something happen. "It will be difficult to talk with her. You may

have to pull some strings with her department



Multi-tasking

Are you good at multi-tasking or doing multiple tasks at the same time?

"This week we need you to write a report, make a presentation, and

review last year's earnings. I hope you can multi-task!" It still means

you only get paid one salary though



Bite off more than you can chew

If you take on too much work, you may not be able to do it all properly.

"He's working late every night. He bit off more than he could chew



Downtime

Are there periods of time where you don't have much work to do? Where

your job is just not as busy? That time is called downtime. "If you have

some downtime this week, please brainstorm some ideas for our next team

outing